1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to exhaust shield devices employed in use with conventional ovens. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a shield for use with an oven, such as a conveyor oven having inlet and outlet openings, and in order to redirect a thermal exhaust pattern emanating from either or both the inlet and outlet openings in a substantially upward direction to an overhead mounted ventilation hood.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is well documented with many types of oven devices, particularly among which are conveyor type ovens suited for use in various segments of the food industry. A particular type of conveyor oven is produced by Middleby Marshall, generally designated as a direct gas fired conveyor oven. These conveyor ovens include an interior cooking chamber, through which is conveyed a desired food product (pizza, seafood, bagels, ethnic foods, etc.). A conveyor belt extends within the cooking chamber, between a first inlet end to a second outlet end. Various model numbers of the Middleby Marshall ovens teach both single and multiple stacked units and in which the inlets and outlets are stacked one above the other.
Also known in the art are ventilation hoods which are mounted in overhead fashion above the cooking appliance, such as again may include a conveyorized cooking oven, and which functions to evacuate from the interior surroundings the heat and particular exhaust emanating from the appliance and in particular through the inlet and outlet openings of the conveyorized belt. Examples of such overhead ventilation hoods are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,041,774 and 6,041,772, both issued to Ward and Kolecki, each of which teaches a ceiling mounted structure for removing heat and airborne particulates emanating from the appliance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,320, issued to Brown, teaches a conveyor oven exhaust system with a hood structure incorporated into a conveyorized oven itself, and in contrast to an overhead mounted hood. The hood in Brown is assembled from modules including a central make-up air plenum module mounted directly over the heating stations of a conveyorized double-deck oven, an exhaust plenum module atop the make-up air plenum and downwardly-opening end modules overhanging the conveyor end portions extending outside the sides of the oven heating chambers. The end modules include make-up air directors aiming make-up air upward along the undersides of removable panels having slots therein to accelerate exhaust flow into a chamber below filters to effectively remove fumes from the areas above the conveyor ends. The overhanging end modules also include partitions cooperating with walls of the overhang portions to provide ducts at the front of the overhand portions to capture fumes from the area above the front of the conveyor ends. Air flow guides are provided around the extending portions of the conveyors and a makeup air diverter and diffuser are provided, discharging air from the front of the makeup air plenum down the front of the oven to cool the front exterior surfaces.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,243, issued to Welsh et al., teaches another type of kitchen exhaust hood covering the top of an oven and food conveyors which extend on both sides of the oven. Plates in the hood cooperate with the walls of the hood and to provide slots at the hood front and sides to accelerate the air under the plates adjacent the slots and provide high velocity exhaust air flow upward in the hood at the front and sides of the hood to capture heat and fumes. The plates are located slightly above and the lower edge of the hood, to minimize induction of room air horizontally into the hood under the edge, and assure collection of air that has been associated with the oven and has accumulated heat or collected contaminants. Air flow guides at ends of a conveyor direct heat and fumes around the ends of the conveyor toward the conveyor covering hood portions. Each of these guides are mounted at the outer ends of the conveyor supports and include generally curved or concave shell surfaces which to redirect heat and fines in a redirected fashion back into the oven assembly.
The present invention is directed to a shield for use with an oven, such as a conveyor oven having inlet and outlet openings, which redirects a thermal exhaust pattern emanating from either or both the inlet and outlet openings in a substantially upward direction to an overhead mounted ventilation hood. A multiple number of redirecting shields may be utilized with a given oven, with each shield being located on an external face of the conveyor oven, proximate and above each of at least the inlet and outlet openings communicating with the interiorly extending conveyorized belt. It is further contemplated that the shields may either be provided as attachable units to retrofit a given oven installation, or may incorporated into the design and manufacture of the oven and thereby be integrally designed as part of the oven exterior shell.
Each shield includes a forwardly projecting and elongated front surface, first and second side surfaces, and a top surface angling in a generally upward direction between the side surfaces and from the front surface toward the associated exterior oven surface. First and second side brackets mount each of the shield bodies to the oven, with each of the redirecting shields further defining an interiorly hollowed and downwardly facing bottom proximate the associated oven aperture.
To facilitate in redirecting the thermal exhaust pattern emanating from the conveyor oven inlets and outlets, an elongated aperture is defined within the angled top surface of the mountable shield, extending substantially between the first and second side surfaces, and located proximate the associated exterior surface of the oven. The shield functions to redirect the thermal exhaust flow emanating through associated aperture of the conveyor oven and in a substantially upward direction close to the exterior surfaces of the oven and towards a ventilation hood mounted in an overhead location above the oven.
The redirecting shields therefore accomplish a number of important objectives, among these including controlling the pattern of the thermal exhaust from the oven and preventing the thermal flow from otherwise permeating throughout the room interior, within which the oven is located, and thereby compromising the conditioned interior air quality. Additionally, the provision of the redirecting shields permits the overhead mounted ventilation hood to be considerably downsized due to the compressed and substantially vertical redirection of the oven thermal exhaust.